(Not trip-related)
The one topic that travellers worry most about is money. Besides the usual concern of never having enough, there is another dimension to add: first one must understand the local currency, and secondly one must get hold of it.
The first problem is not as easy as it looks. Admittedly, in most countries it’s straightforward: instead of US Dollar or British Pound you have to use French Franc, Italian Lira or Vietnamese Dong.
In fact, some countries have even adopted the US Dollar as their more or less official currency, like Panama or Cuba, where Dollars are a common means of payment despite of the somewhat strained relationship between Fidel Castro and the several presidents of the United States he has outlived so far. Even in Iran, which cannot be considered a close ally of the U.S., the Dollar is prevalent.
However, things get more complicated in countries which have several currencies, mostly one for locals and one for foreigners. Cuba actually has the peso as local currency and the “peso convertible”, which trades one to one to the Dollar, as a Dollar supplement to make good for lack of American bills. This is still easy, though, because the conversion rates are known and a foreigner is allowed to convert currencies as he sees fit.
Equally in China, where the locals trade in Yuan and foreigners in RMB. As in Cuba, foreigners are required to pay certain services in hard currency (here: RMB), e.g. transportation or accomodation. Officially RMB and Yuan trade one to one, but on the blackmarket one RMB gives twenty or more Yuan.
As RMB give access to special stores where the devils of capitalism reign and Western goods (like electronics) can be purchased, the Chinese languish for RMB and try to charge foreigners RMB whenever possible. This requires special attention: a common trick is to give change in Yuan when being paid in RMB, often with the excuse that no other small money is available.
Things get more complicated in countries where recently currencies have changed. When I was in Brazil (1989), the old Peso had been surpassed by the Nuevo Peso, which traded 1 to 1000 to the old Peso. However, as still lots of old Peso bills were in circulation, a common understanding was to use the old bills and drop the last three zeroes.
To increase the confusion, prices were sometimes quoted in old and sometimes in new Pesos! Most of the times I didn’t know the value of something I bought.
The second problem has to do with weak currencies and inflation. Of course, in every country money can be exchanged at banks, but that is not always the most sensible option. When the currency is held stable artifically, almost always a black market exists which yields much better exchange rates for foreigners with hard currencies. This can be a factor of twenty or more.
However, changing money on the black market is not always easy. It’s mostly illegal – in Syria a foreigner can be thrown in jail for up to fifteen years for changing on the black market (and who wants to sit in a Syrian jail at all?). Locals, by the way, get higher sentences.
It’s also dangerous in the sense that money changers might cheat you by giving you forged bills, doing some sleight-of-hand or similar. I found it feasible to look for a money changer around train stations (where they’ll always be) and then take him to a cafe or similar, where the situation could be controlled.
Some take their business serious, though, and are concerned about the honour of their trade: I saw a money changer, who apparently tried to cheat a foreigner, being completely beaten up by fellow money changers in Lima, Peru…
Actually, Lima was easy in this aspect – I could walk down the streets at two o’clock in the morning, and still somebody would follow me and whisper: “Cambio?”
Inflation also creates the problem of having to change often. In Argentina in spring 1989, I had to change every day as not to lose too much money – the value of the Austral declined by two-digit percentages a day!
I was careful to change only ten dollars at a time, and still these ten dollars made me live like a king. If you are forced to change a large amount of money in such a situation you’ll walk away with wads of money. In Bolivia I had to change 100 US$ and received a plastic bag full of bills.
Some countries try to get around this problem by printing bills with larger face value: Turkey introduced the ten million Lira bill in november 1999. It’s value at the time: about 20 US$! It’s easy to become a millionaire in those countries.
Even worse, a few years ago in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia the money was so devalued that even photocopying bills was not worth the effort – the photocopies would have cost more than the face value of the photocopied bill!
And if you are stuck in a country where the banks are closed and the exchange rate is unknown (possibly because of a coup d’etat), use the worlwide currency: cigarettes.